Game 81: Warriors vs Pelicans 7pm PDT

[xdrta+]

What’s the point he hasn’t played with the real team all year. They must like him though.

There's no point in going into the playoffs with an open roster spot when it only costs a day or two salary for a rest-of-year contract. No one does. They may also want to lock him up for next year with a non-guaranteed second year on the contract. Details of it aren't out yet.

[Onus]

What’s the point he hasn’t played with the real team all year. They must like him though.

There's no point in going into the playoffs with an open roster spot when it only costs a day or two salary for a rest-of-year contract. No one does. They may also want to lock him up for next year with a non-guaranteed second year on the contract. Details of it aren't out yet.

But that day or 2 of salary is actually 7 days because of the tax.

[Onus]

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What’s the point he hasn’t played with the real team all year. They must like him though.

If Kuminga, Draymond or Trayce get injured we will have a use for Garuba but don’t expect much from him.

If Kuminga, Draymond and Trayce are healthy Garuba won’t play except in garbage time.

You forgot about looney and Saric.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Moody hasn't played enough to really make the determination if he is starter quality or not.

Kerr at the start of this season should have insisted on Moody starting for 10 straight games preferably without Klay. Going over the performance of his lineups it seems Draymond's observation that some players don't work great with Steph and Klay because they end up deferring too much may apply to Moody. Moody if he is to maximize his potential needs to be broken free of such timidity. That's less likely to happen if he isn't playing enough.

PLEASE.

This theory that Moody is just waiting to be unlocked if Kerr only had a clue.

The coaches have watched him in games and practices. They know exactly what his strengths and weaknesses are.

Far more than basketball savants on RealGM do. But somehow, if Moody got 30 minutes a game, he'd be this quality starter, all-star even.

Because the experts on the forums know more than the coaches who watch and work with him every day do.

Has he EARNED more minutes or does he need more minutes to PROVE you savants right?

It's as if the draft nerds who watched all the Youtube videos of prospects at 15-years old KNOW which ones should be getting more minutes t age 20 or 21.

can't speak about theory, but let's look at the reality: this team with klay as starter/30+ mins at SG is not competitive (for contending). ofc it cannot be derubricated entirely on klay, but the SG together with the C position is the main issue of his roster. mainly because the SG needs to score but also "guard" steph's back on the defensive side of the ball, taking pressure off him on D and on the boards, things that this version of klay cannot provide anymore because of age and injuries, rather requires extra effort from steph himself to cover for his deficiencies when on the floor with him. it's been crystal clear since the beginning of the year. like the abomination of the 3 if not 4 guard lineups thrown out there by kerr.
moody might have not earned more minutes, so podz, certainly klay did not earned the right to play 30+ mins (either as a starter or not), in fact many on this board were advocating a trade for a guard in the summer (holiday) and in Feb (murray) who could've been that guard to pair with steph. klay is no longer that guard.
the same coaches that watched moody in games and practice also watched klay in games and practice. they (should) know exactly what his strenghts and weaknesses are at this point of his career. and yet here we are. with him playing pretty much like we were in 2018 or 2019. that is the issue.
bottom line is, they should've tried something else from early on (someone would argue already last season rather than play frigging jerome and lamb, 2 two-way players that are currently out of the league....), including playing moody more mins and, in case any tries with the players a roster couldn't make any substantial change to the team performance and record, make a trade at the deadline rather than sticking with klay (and CP) as the main SG no matter what.
moody or not moody, this is the reality of the situation.

There is a month I want to toss out of my plus minus stats for starters. Wiggins is still at the bottom of our season plus minus because of that month even though Wiggins seems to have returned to being one of us best 4 players now. That month hurt our starters plus minus because other than Draymond and Curry all of our starters played bad that month. Looney played bad that moth which is unusual for Looney. Looney got better. Klay played bad. Klay got better. Draymond was playing mediocre that month. Draymond got better. Curry was plying good 2nd halves but bad 1st quarters that month. 1st quarter Curry Klay Wiggins Draymond and Looney was horrible and they were dragging down each other’s plus minus numbers. Kerr did not adjust. Kerr was counting on those starters who had been good together the previous year and that failed. I would have been just as confused as Kerr. What was wrong with those guys? Klay I understand. Klay always was better 2nd half seasons and Klay’s legs lost their springyness. But what was wrong with Wiggins and Looney who were not old. Looney had been reliable from 2019 until last fall. What happened?

That month was Mostly November with some December. I would rather see season plus minus with that month excluded.

Klay had to play because we needed a 3rd scorer to stop teams from doubling Curry and to give the Chris Paul unit a go to guy. We should of had somebody on the roster who was a more reliable 3rds scorer than Klay but that is not Klay’s fault or Kerr’s fault.

Too bad Wiggins is not really maple Jordan in addition to being our 2nd best defender. If wiggins was a better scorer we could afford to play Moody over Klay. Too bad Moody was not a 6’ 7” longer armed version of Payton because that guy would be a high enough impact defender to put up with Moody not being able to volume score.

Moody is not the answer. Moody is just an NBA filler decent 8th man that you want on your team but don’t want starting. But Moody’s long arms? If Moody was faster and more energetic peskyer like Payton his long arms would be a factor on defense. Good to have Moody but no Moody can not solve our lack of a starting quality off guard problem.

[xdrta+]

What’s the point he hasn’t played with the real team all year. They must like him though.

There's no point in going into the playoffs with an open roster spot when it only costs a day or two salary for a rest-of-year contract. No one does. They may also want to lock him up for next year with a non-guaranteed second year on the contract. Details of it aren't out yet.

But that day or 2 of salary is actually 7 days because of the tax.

They'll sign him the last day of the season. One day is $11,608, plus about $65k tax. Pocket change. Especially if they want to look at him for next year, since he's a FA this summer, and they add in a non-guaranteed year. Only the Pelicans haven't filled their 15th spot, and they may well promote a 2 way player at the last minute.

[Romulus]

With their seasons on the line, why is 36 year old Steph Curry playing 32 minutes and 40 year old Lebron James playing 40 minutes? Is Steph just out of shape? A baby? Or what?

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

With their seasons on the line, why is 36 year old Steph Curry playing 32 minutes and 40 year old Lebron James playing 40 minutes? Is Steph just out of shape? A baby? Or what?

LeBron knows how to use steroids better than Steph does.
Kerr is more from the Pop school of player time management than Lakers are.

What LeBron is doing defying father time is extremely unusual.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Oh no 3 guard line ups.

When I started Watching NBA 6’ 6” Dr J was a normal sized small forward. 6’ 5” David Thompson and 6’ 7” George Gervin had just switched from being small forwards to being off guards.

Wiggins is 6’ 7” and light at 200 pounds but we agree that Wiggins is a small forward. Klay is also 6’ 7” and 15 pounds heavier than Wiggins but if Klay plays with 2 other guards horrors 3 guard line up. But Wiggins with 2 guards no problem.

Draymond is 6’ 5” but he plays like a power forward and we accept him as a power forward. Most of us like Dray at center with Kuminga Wiggins off guard and Curry because Looney was not playing well and Kuminga was playing well. Looney is playing better than a month ago and Kuminga is playing worse than a month ago. I don’t really know what Draymond is. Draymond plays the Draymond position which is not a normal power forward.

Podz is 6’ 5” same height as power forward Draymond and 5 pounds heavier than Draymond.
Podz rebounds more per minute than Wiggins and Kuminga. Podz weighs 5 pounds more than Wiggins. Wiggins and Kuminga are faster than Podz. So why is Podz not a small forward?

Why is Moody not a small forward?

If Podz and Klay and Moody and both Santos are considered small forwards then have the Warriors ever played a 3 guard line up this season?

Have Chris Paul, Curry, and Payton ever been on the floor together. Some were Joking about Payton being our center. Some were serious about Payton being our small forward. Payton rebounds same as Wiggins and a half rebound less per 36 minutes than Kuminga but I think I will call Payton a guard.

Has Quinones been on the floor with 2 guards if Moody, Podz , Santos and Klay are all considered small forwards?

What 3 guard line ups. We never play 3 guard line ups.

[CDM_Stats]

Wiggins is 6'7 1/2 or 6'7 3/4
Draymond is 6'5 3/4
Klay is 6'5 3/4
Moody is 6'4 1/2
Podz is 6'3 3/4

In case anyone was wondering why the above seemed to pivot back and forth between regular height and in shoes height in order to make the point seem better. These are all barefoot heights and all except Wiggins are easily searchable through multiple outlets

[powerball1373]

With their seasons on the line, why is 36 year old Steph Curry playing 32 minutes and 40 year old Lebron James playing 40 minutes? Is Steph just out of shape? A baby? Or what?

Steph minutes are not the same as LeBron minutes. LeBron is able to dictate tempo and conserve energy on offense while Steph's game relies heavily on running around non-stop. As a Warriors fan, how do you not realize this?

[floppymoose]

Klay continues to be a disaster in the 4th quarter. That is the #1 adjustment I would like to see.

[DonaldSanders]

Steph minutes are not the same as LeBron minutes. LeBron is able to dictate tempo and conserve energy on offense while Steph's game relies heavily on running around non-stop. As a Warriors fan, how do you not realize this?

I also think Ham over-plays LeBron. He had an amazing 1st half vs. Denver in game 4 of the WCF, but he played 23:56 of 24 1st half minutes, and in the 3rd quarter he looked completely gassed. -17 2nd half and played the most minutes. Jokic and Murray got rests, and LeBron had an embarrassing play to finish.

[michaelm]

With their seasons on the line, why is 36 year old Steph Curry playing 32 minutes and 40 year old Lebron James playing 40 minutes? Is Steph just out of shape? A baby? Or what?

Steph minutes are not the same as LeBron minutes. LeBron is able to dictate tempo and conserve energy on offense while Steph's game relies heavily on running around non-stop. As a Warriors fan, how do you not realize this?

Curry is also not fully fit, reports indicated his ankle injury hadn’t completely resolved and that there was no prospect of it doing so in season. He was playing 40 minutes plus previously. This also likely affects his shot

I also consider it likely Draymond Green has an acute component recently on top of his chronic back problems.

That’s life, they got old. That they managed to be good enough 2 years ago to win at the ages they were then with the miles on the clock they had is more remarkable imo than them showing their age now.

[watch1958]

Oh no 3 guard line ups.

When I started Watching NBA 6’ 6” Dr J was a normal sized small forward. 6’ 5” David Thompson and 6’ 7” George Gervin had just switched from being small forwards to being off guards.

Wiggins is 6’ 7” and light at 200 pounds but we agree that Wiggins is a small forward. Klay is also 6’ 7” and 15 pounds heavier than Wiggins but if Klay plays with 2 other guards horrors 3 guard line up. But Wiggins with 2 guards no problem.

Draymond is 6’ 5” but he plays like a power forward and we accept him as a power forward. Most of us like Dray at center with Kuminga Wiggins off guard and Curry because Looney was not playing well and Kuminga was playing well. Looney is playing better than a month ago and Kuminga is playing worse than a month ago. I don’t really know what Draymond is. Draymond plays the Draymond position which is not a normal power forward.

Podz is 6’ 5” same height as power forward Draymond and 5 pounds heavier than Draymond.
Podz rebounds more per minute than Wiggins and Kuminga. Podz weighs 5 pounds more than Wiggins. Wiggins and Kuminga are faster than Podz. So why is Podz not a small forward?

Why is Moody not a small forward?

If Podz and Klay and Moody and both Santos are considered small forwards then have the Warriors ever played a 3 guard line up this season?

Have Chris Paul, Curry, and Payton ever been on the floor together. Some were Joking about Payton being our center. Some were serious about Payton being our small forward. Payton rebounds same as Wiggins and a half rebound less per 36 minutes than Kuminga but I think I will call Payton a guard.

Has Quinones been on the floor with 2 guards if Moody, Podz , Santos and Klay are all considered small forwards?

What 3 guard line ups. We never play 3 guard line ups.

Podz is two inches shorter than Draymond, 25 pounds lighter, and his wingspan is 7.5 shorter.

[michaelm]

Moody was one of the better players tonight but our board overrates Moody. Moody is not starter quality but Klay and Payton are also not starter quality. CP3 may be borderline starter quality for limited minutes but he is a bad fit with the Curry Draymond duo. Curry and Draymond don’t need a 3rd point guard but Iguodala used to be helpful as a 3rd pointguard in our ball movement offense but we are not setting screens and keeping the ball moving like we used to do.

If Moody was the defender many think he is then I would agree give up CP3s offense for Moody’s defense. CP3s offense is arguably better than Moody’s defense. If Moody could constantly provide 2016 Harrison Barnes level offense then I would not be annoyed that Moody is not able to come close to 2016 Iguodala level defense. We need 2016 Klay back but that isn’t going to happen.

Give us a starting quality off guard and give Saric 2016 Bogut’s size and abilities and we become the championship favorites.

Moody hasn't played enough to really make the determination if he is starter quality or not.

Kerr at the start of this season should have insisted on Moody starting for 10 straight games preferably without Klay. Going over the performance of his lineups it seems Draymond's observation that some players don't work great with Steph and Klay because they end up deferring too much may apply to Moody. Moody if he is to maximize his potential needs to be broken free of such timidity. That's less likely to happen if he isn't playing enough.

PLEASE.

This theory that Moody is just waiting to be unlocked if Kerr only had a clue.

The coaches have watched him in games and practices. They know exactly what his strengths and weaknesses are.

Far more than basketball savants on RealGM do. But somehow, if Moody got 30 minutes a game, he'd be this quality starter, all-star even.

Because the experts on the forums know more than the coaches who watch and work with him every day do.

Has he EARNED more minutes or does he need more minutes to PROVE you savants right?

It's as if the draft nerds who watched all the Youtube videos of prospects at 15-years old KNOW which ones should be getting more minutes t age 20 or 21.

PLEASE yourself.

Whatever else you might be right or wrong about your contention that people want Moody to get more minutes because they are draft nerds and want to justify their rating of him as a draft prospect is nonsensical, and a contention made by you alone I believe.

People want Moody to get more minutes because they think it might make the team better, particularly because he performed well when given more regular minutes at the highest level in the play-offs last season.

Prime Klay was a unique and uniquely great player whom every GSW fan valued highly, and of whom I hope everyone will be a fan in his retirement. Of course Moody can’t now and is extremely unlikely to ever approach who Klay was as a player for all those years.

The problem many see is that Klay isn’t that player any longer, but is employed by Kerr as if he is. Gatling for once has hit the nail on the head, GSW don’t have a starting quality SG, or at least one that can play starter minutes, Klay is damaging to the team in the main when he is tired at the end of games. Some have taken it to the extreme and consider he should be replaced as a starter by Moody, but my personal view is to play him no more than 25 minutes unless he is really rolling, and even then not for crucial defensive possessions late in games. Moody seems to have the length and smarts to play some of the extra minutes, and could hardly be worse than playing Klay late in the game when he tired next to other old slow guards, and Moody would also seem to be a better bet defensively than some of the other small, and in some cases also old and slow, guards in those lineups as well.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Oh no 3 guard line ups.

When I started Watching NBA 6’ 6” Dr J was a normal sized small forward. 6’ 5” David Thompson and 6’ 7” George Gervin had just switched from being small forwards to being off guards.

Wiggins is 6’ 7” and light at 200 pounds but we agree that Wiggins is a small forward. Klay is also 6’ 7” and 15 pounds heavier than Wiggins but if Klay plays with 2 other guards horrors 3 guard line up. But Wiggins with 2 guards no problem.

Draymond is 6’ 5” but he plays like a power forward and we accept him as a power forward. Most of us like Dray at center with Kuminga Wiggins off guard and Curry because Looney was not playing well and Kuminga was playing well. Looney is playing better than a month ago and Kuminga is playing worse than a month ago. I don’t really know what Draymond is. Draymond plays the Draymond position which is not a normal power forward.

Podz is 6’ 5” same height as power forward Draymond and 5 pounds heavier than Draymond.
Podz rebounds more per minute than Wiggins and Kuminga. Podz weighs 5 pounds more than Wiggins. Wiggins and Kuminga are faster than Podz. So why is Podz not a small forward?

Why is Moody not a small forward?

If Podz and Klay and Moody and both Santos are considered small forwards then have the Warriors ever played a 3 guard line up this season?

Have Chris Paul, Curry, and Payton ever been on the floor together. Some were Joking about Payton being our center. Some were serious about Payton being our small forward. Payton rebounds same as Wiggins and a half rebound less per 36 minutes than Kuminga but I think I will call Payton a guard.

Has Quinones been on the floor with 2 guards if Moody, Podz , Santos and Klay are all considered small forwards?

What 3 guard line ups. We never play 3 guard line ups.

Podz is two inches shorter than Draymond, 25 pounds lighter, and his wingspan is 7.5 shorter.

Podz and Draymond are both 6’ 5”
Draymond is not 6’ 7”
Podz is 5 pounds heavier than Wiggins and rebounds same as Wiggins per minute.

Podz can be argued to be a small forward.

[michaelm]

Oh no 3 guard line ups.

When I started Watching NBA 6’ 6” Dr J was a normal sized small forward. 6’ 5” David Thompson and 6’ 7” George Gervin had just switched from being small forwards to being off guards.

Wiggins is 6’ 7” and light at 200 pounds but we agree that Wiggins is a small forward. Klay is also 6’ 7” and 15 pounds heavier than Wiggins but if Klay plays with 2 other guards horrors 3 guard line up. But Wiggins with 2 guards no problem.

Draymond is 6’ 5” but he plays like a power forward and we accept him as a power forward. Most of us like Dray at center with Kuminga Wiggins off guard and Curry because Looney was not playing well and Kuminga was playing well. Looney is playing better than a month ago and Kuminga is playing worse than a month ago. I don’t really know what Draymond is. Draymond plays the Draymond position which is not a normal power forward.

Podz is 6’ 5” same height as power forward Draymond and 5 pounds heavier than Draymond.
Podz rebounds more per minute than Wiggins and Kuminga. Podz weighs 5 pounds more than Wiggins. Wiggins and Kuminga are faster than Podz. So why is Podz not a small forward?

Why is Moody not a small forward?

If Podz and Klay and Moody and both Santos are considered small forwards then have the Warriors ever played a 3 guard line up this season?

Have Chris Paul, Curry, and Payton ever been on the floor together. Some were Joking about Payton being our center. Some were serious about Payton being our small forward. Payton rebounds same as Wiggins and a half rebound less per 36 minutes than Kuminga but I think I will call Payton a guard.

Has Quinones been on the floor with 2 guards if Moody, Podz , Santos and Klay are all considered small forwards?

What 3 guard line ups. We never play 3 guard line ups.

Podz is two inches shorter than Draymond, 25 pounds lighter, and his wingspan is 7.5 shorter.

Podz and Draymond are both 6’ 5”
Draymond is not 6’ 7”
Podz is 5 pounds heavier than Wiggins and rebounds same as Wiggins per minute.

Podz can be argued to be a small forward.

The problem as you yourself said is that they don’t have a starting quality SG, or one capable of playing starter minutes anyway. Klay was a uniquely great SG and extremely complementary to Curry, and his size was a contributor to that particularly as a defensive player. The problem is that he can no longer guard the best opposition guard, and whether or not you want to split hairs in regard to the 3 and 4 guard line-ups really being guards on the basis of height Curry and CP3 are PGs, and Klay was an SG of considerable excellence in his pomp, and none of the three are now capable of defending quick guards when together on the court.

Your argument about heights merely points out what Jozef has been saying all year, that the current team lacks height, and while Klay’s size/height was an advantage playing SG in his(quite extended) prime he is quite short for those positions with little athleticism to compensate for same if you want to call him an SF or a PF now, and he is not an elite defender of SFs or PFs which he was as an SG defending guards.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Podz is two inches shorter than Draymond, 25 pounds lighter, and his wingspan is 7.5 shorter.

Podz and Draymond are both 6’ 5”
Draymond is not 6’ 7”
Podz is 5 pounds heavier than Wiggins and rebounds same as Wiggins per minute.

Podz can be argued to be a small forward.

The problem as you yourself said is that they don’t have a starting quality SG, or one capable of playing starter minutes any way. Klay was a uniquely great SG and extremely complementary to Curry, and his size was a contributor to that particularly as a defensive player. The problem is that he can no longer guard the best opposition guard, and whether or not you want to split hairs in regard to the 3 and 4 guard line ups really being guards on the basis of height Curry and CP3 are PGs and Klay was an SG of considerable excellence in his pomp, and none of the three are capable of defending quick guards when together on the court.

Klay is too slow to defend guards now.
Moody is not as good at defending guards speed as Payton is despite Moody’s long arms.
Moody is probably faster than peak Klay was but peak Klay could defend point guards because Klay had good technique.
Podz is a rookie and is not that fast.

We just don’t have a starting quality off guard but we do have 4 guys who would make good back up off guards and our 4 back up off guards each have different strengths but only short Payton has the speed that I want our starting off guard to have. I would like to have somebody faster than Payton to defend point guards. Chris Paul is no longer fast. I think Payton is our fastest guy but Payton is not as fast as he used to be. Most teams probably have somebody faster than Payton.

If Kuminga got more time defending off guards I would include Kuminga in my list of off guard options. The problem with Kuminga as an off guard is that I want better 3 point shooting from my off guard. Somebody else needs to shoot 3s so that Kuminga can drive to the basket without dealing with help defenders. Kuminga can play off guard with Curry drawing defenders to the 3 point line. Draymond can draw a defender to the 3 point line by setting screens or picks for Curry. Curry has the ball, Draymond sets a pick Curry passes to Draymond and Draymond passes to Kuminga who drives 1 on 1 to the hoop. That works if Draymond is the center and there is a 3 point shooting power forward plus Wiggins. Can Klay play power forward with Kuminga at off guard? Kerr compared Kuminga to Shawn Marion. If Kuminga had the best of Shawn Marion’s game Kuminga would rebound from the off guard position but something mental is preventing Kuminga from rebounding like Shawn Marion. There is no physical reason why Kuminga can not rebound like Shawn Marion.

Lets trade Chris Paul and stuff for Dejounte Murray. Murray’s offensive ball handling point guard skills may be 2nd rate but Podz has point guard skills and could play along side Dejounte. Curry plus Draymond is good point gaurd offensive creation skills for the starters. I think Dejounte would fit well with what the Warriors need but we would have to give up future draft picks to get him and still would not be a true championship contender even with him. With Dejounte we could probably reach the conference finals for the next few years.

I would still want a 7 foot 3rd string center an a ultra fast point guard defender as our 3rd string point guard.

I don’t mind giving up future draft picks just to make the conference finals as Curry ages because I think we must hit bottom and rebuild after Curry leaves before we can start build towards out next chamionship in 2030 something. After Curry retires trade Kuminga, Trayce and Podz for draft picks and start over.

I do not want aging Curry to have to play on a 30 win rebuilding team that is not even bad enough to get the high lottery picks. I want Curry to keep on getting to the conference finals until he retires. Then blow up the team and start over.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Where can I find Warriors plus minus for the month of March?

[WarriorGM]

Where can I find Warriors plus minus for the month of March?

Here you go:

https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612744/players-traditional?PerMode=Totals&dir=D&sort=PLUS_MINUS&Month=6